dkurtenbach

I was a Roundtable Commissioner for a long time, and over the years dealt with all of these issues.

I can't blame DEs, District Chairmen, or Training Chairs for wanting a piece of Roundtable. It is the ONLY established, regular meeting for all unit leaders in a district. As such, it is the best opportunity to reach those leaders. I blame BSA for not setting Roundtable up to meet all of those needs -- or not institutionalizing another monthly meeting to take care of them! **VBG**

In my view, regardless of what the books say about it, the single most important function of Roundtable is to give unit leaders what they NEED. That may vary from month to month and district to district. Good attendance will come when RT provides what leaders need _and_ they KNOW that they need it. Great attendance will come when RT provides what leaders need _and_ they KNOW that they need it _and_ they WANT it, too.

Dan K.

Barry is right, of course, that it all starts with the den leaders -- you can't have a good Cub Scout or Webelos program without an enthusiastic den leader. You won't have boys staying in Cub Scouts or Webelos without an enthusiastic den leader. You won't have boys transition into Boy Scouting without the encouragement of an enthusiastic den leader.

We also know how limited the numbers of enthusiastic den leaders are. There aren't all that many to begin with, and as Barry discusses, we lose a lot through burn out. Clearly this is an issue that needs to be addressed.

I would suggest, however, that it is also program-related, in this sense: If we have a program that requires enthusiastic den leaders to be successful, and we only have two-thirds or less of the enthusiastic den leaders we need for the program to be successful, perhaps we need to make the program more attractive to and less demanding upon adults so that it is easier to recruit adult leaders and reduce burn-out.

Dan K.

For the second year, I will be moderating a course at our council Commissioner College on Innovation in Scouting. The idea is to look at how new ideas or practices are implemented, and how affected people react to changes. The discussion will focus on (a) an example of an innovation in Scouting that has already occurred, and (b) a current problem that could use an innovative solution. For (a), I'm thinking of using Leave No Trace. For (b), I'm considering the Webelos-To-Scout transition. I'd appreciate some other suggestions or comments.

Dan K.

Our troop does a monthly "Webelos Workshop," inviting Webelos from the area to come to a troop meeting and work on a few requirements from a Webelos activity badge. The problem: the vast majority of activity badge requirements are classroom-type "Tell" requirements, not active, hands-on fun stuff. Take a look at the Fitness activity badge requirements, for example. It is no wonder Cub Scouts and Webelos get bored (particularly when dens meet in [shudder] school classrooms).

Beyond that, BSA bends over backwards to offer "graduating" Webelos Scouts opportunities to NOT continue. When is the "transition"? In the middle of the school year, and right before spring sports begin. Who has to do the work of finding, visiting, and joining Boy Scout troops? Why, the Scouts, their parents, and their Den Leader. Who has the most influence on whether Webelos Scouts continue on? The Den Leader -- who is often burned out from 4 1/2 years of Cubbing. Who teaches Webelos about Boy Scouting for the Arrow of Light requirements? The Den Leader, who may have no clue about what Boy Scouting is or how it works. And of course, any transition is preceded by a big ceremony ushering the boys and their families OUT of the only Scouting they know. It is nuts.

In the pre-online training era, we had great success offering various training at 7:00 PM before the 8:00 Roundtable. It got folks trained and increased Roundtable attendance. Then the district training committee took over doing the training and started going way past 8:00, so we had to stop doing training before RT.

A couple of times over the years I have proposed doing the classroom portion of SM/ASM training at the same time as RT. (Last year when we had no RT Commissioner, I suggested doing it _as_ the RT program. I figured most of the attendees wouldn't see any difference between the training material and the normal RT program anyway.) As I see it, the ideal would be to break the syllabus down into blocks of about 1 1/2 hours each, and run two or three cycles each year. Anyone who missed a session would have other chances to make it up -- all it would take is a little recordkeeping; really no different than Scouts using blue cards to track merit badge requirements and their handbooks to track advancement requirements.

At our annual planning conference a couple of weeks ago, the suggested activity that received the most votes was a visit to a robotics engineering lab.

I've been to both camps twice, though it has been several years since my last sojourn. Yes, I think the programs are (still) pretty much identical, as are the facilities. The main differences are topography and layout of the camp. Camp Ross has longish rolling slopes, while Camp PMI is steeper and rockier. Camp Ross is more spread out, with some of the campsites quite a distance from the activity areas; Camp PMI seems more compact. The main buildings at Camp Ross (Admin, QM, Trading Post, Dining Hall) are all together around the parade ground. The main buildings at Camp PMI are more spread out, with a nice little climb uphill to the Dining Hall from the parade ground. Camp Ross has a bigger parking lot; Camp PMI's parking lot is smaller and a bit more challenging. I don't know if this is still true, but Camp Ross had a much better camp cheer ("Ross is Boss!") than Camp PMI ("PMI, PMI, PMI, Yeah!").

[sung to the tune of the song from the Disney movie:]

Bom, bom, bom,

BEAR necessities!

The simple BEAR necessities!

Scheduling would be one way to do it, so long as you don't put one patrol at a disadvantage. For example, if you have four patrols and three stoves, probably better to shedule meals two patrols at a time, rather than three and one. Probably better in the long run to acquire enough equipment for each patrol -- with each patrol responsible for the care of their equipment. And perhaps leading to each patrol having a different mix of equipment, different brands/types, further adding to each patrol's unique identity.

Dan Kurtenbach

And what happens if the missing equipment isn't accounted for, or only a couple of tents show up? Then you're stuck between loosening up on your ultimatum or letting the troop fall apart for lack of activities. And let's not be so hard on 12-13 year old QMs -- sure, it is partly their fault that the equipment can't be tracked down, but they aren't the ones who lost it, and either they didn't have good training, or good supervision (you don't make 12 year old boys solely responsible for thousands of dollars of equipment), and the troop lacked good procedures. This is a good learning experience for a young, active troop, but not a reason to stop the troop in its tracks.

Dan Kurtenbach

As the President is fond of saying, it will be "hard work," with (at least) one step back for every two steps forward. You have to start with a clear vision of your goal: What will your Patrol Method troop look like? How will it do things (big things and little things)? Then sit down and plan out step-by-step how to get there from where you are now. What things do you need to start doing? What things do you need to stop doing? What things do you need to continue doing? Then you'll have to figure out how fast you can start to make changes. If old processes and traditions are well-entrenched, it is going to take some time. On the other hand, if you have lots of young Scouts, you may be able to move faster. Avoid areas where you sense resistance and work on the things that are easier to implement, but plant the seed for future changes in those areas. You'll want as much help and buy-in as you can get -- find adults and Scouts who have a clue, and explain the little changes and how they are important to a better troop or a better activity or better meetings.

As for the practicality of one or two patrol members doing their own cooking and other tasks, I think it is really just a question of what you want to do and then planning that. If you are going to have one or more patrols with one or two or three members, there is no reason they can't plan for, buy groceries for, and cook for a small number of people. You can, of course, always have the tiny patrols cook not only for themselves but for "guests" as well -- the adults -- to give them experience cooking for larger numbers, but that isn't necessary; regardless of how many boys from the patrol are there, the cook is cooking for the patrol. Naturally, it will be _inconvenient_ to have little patrols doing things that could be much more economically and efficiently done by larger groups. But since when has Scouting ever been about convenience and efficiency?

Dan Kurtenbach

Going forward, it sounds like you just need better accountability paperwork. Perhaps an Assistant Quartermaster or an adult advisor for the QM who maintains a separate, duplicate set of records on who checked out what equipment. Perhaps some triplicate receipt forms (from any office supply store) with the original staying with the QM (preferably in some big, heavy binder or briefcase that is hard to lose track of), one copy being given _immediately_ to the backup record keeper to be maintained separately, and the third copy to the Scout (perhaps stapled to his Boy Scout Handbook).

As for the lost equipment, proposing a special dues assessment on each family ($50? $75?) to purchase replacements may stimulate some more thorough searches of basements, garages, car trunks, and boys' rooms.

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

The point of the Patrol Method is to create opportunities for boys to learn practical citizenship. In the small group environment, each member is given important responsibilities that contribute to the comfort and success of the group. Members learn to work with one another (and deal with each others' flaws and quirks), learn the consequences of failure to do their part, learn to rely on each other, and practice leading. In this way, the patrol becomes a high-performing team that is fun and satisfying for its youth members, while developing the qualities in those members that make it satisfying for the adults (that is, they are making progress toward the Aims of character, citizenship, and fitness).

The Patrol Method only operates when the patrol has tasks or projects to perform. Only if it has real things to do (with a fun, challenging, or rewarding objective that will motivate them) can the patrol members take on assignments and responsibilities that will challenge them, benefit the other members, and provide the raw material for patrol member interaction, sharing, and teamwork.

The more opportunities that the patrol has to practice teamwork, the better the Patrol Method will work. Patrols that are mostly intact most of the time will develop faster, and thus the learning and growth of its members will occur faster. Patrols with random meeting and outing attendance will naturally take longer to develop their relationships and ways of working together, and thus the learning and growth of its members will take longer.

If we want to "grow" the Patrol Method in our troops, we have to follow some basic principles:

1. Patrols have to have real tasks and projects to perform as patrols. Those tasks and projects have to be big enough and complex enough that they can be divided up into meaningful pieces and assigned to various patrol members.

2. Those tasks and projects can't just be occasional. In a troop, there should be some jobs that a patrol must perform continually or on a recurring basis (in rotation with other patrols), and many jobs, large and small, that arise based on the next campout or activity or meeting program. Patrols need to stay busy carrying out their patrol responsibilities.

3. Patrols must be real entities with their own identities. It must be obvious to the patrol members that (a) they have a place, a small community, that they are part of; (b) that little community will take care of them; © they must help take care of that little community. Patrol flags, yells/slogans/catch phrases/songs, special places in the troop assembly, tables or corners in the meeting room, etc. all help develop that special identity. The troop leadership must help promote and develop that identity; it has to think always in terms of patrols, not individual Scouts.

4. Patrols need to stay together as much and as long as reasonably possible. That doesn't mean that patrols can't be reorganized, just that every time a change occurs, it is a pause or a step back in the development of patrols toward the goal of becoming high-performing teams and a loss of patrol identity and spirit, and in some cases it can be frustrating for the Scouts.

5. Patrol identity should remain intact on outings and activities, even if only one or two patrol members are present. Regularly taking a Scout out of his "regular" patrol, or sending the message that "regular" patrols only exist for convenience at meetings, undermines team loyalty and patrol spirit. See No. 3 above. This doesn't mean that _patrols_ can't be tasked to work together/camp together/cook together etc. as a temporary "super patrol" team on an outing or activity (planting their patrol flags together in their campsite), but it should be clear that they are patrols working together, not individual Scouts pulled out of their regular patrols and combined into another "patrol" they have no prior connection to. The practical effect is the same for purposes of the outing or activity, but the symbolism is very different. High adventure crews or special purpose patrols are another matter -- they should be formed as an _additional_ patrol or team that the Scout belongs to _along with_ his membership in his "regular" patrol.

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

Our Scout Executive has laid it out very clearly: An emphasis on fun and adventure. That is whay boys come, that is why they stay. You can trace all of our membership issues to poorly delivered programs. No marketing plan or recruitment incentive can overcome a boring program.

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

This same discussion is going on in about five different forums. I'll share some comments here that I made on the JLT email list, and are pretty much the same as I made on this same topic here a few months back. I would also note that I was not a big fan of the old JLT training, which seemed focused on teambuilding rather than the nuts and bolts of patrol and troop leadership.

I guess I would have to say that I am not particularly impressed with the new Troop Leadership Training program (#34306A)(replacement for Junior Leader Training). Three main things:

(1) Like the Patrol Leader Handbook, TLT is written for older Scouts, not for 12- and 13-year-old patrol leaders. These younger Scouts simply can't sit through discussions of chapters of the Patrol Leader Handbook, discussion of the Scoutmaster's "Vision of Success," a discussion of servant leadership, or a "thinking/writing session." These guys need to be _doing_, not sitting; but this training really doesn't include fun, practical exercises that demonstrate various aspects of leadership.

(2) Like too much of our training, there is far too much lecture/discussion. Too much school, not enough Scouting.

(3) While the titles or themes of the three modules -- "Know," "Be," and "Do" -- seem to indicate three relatively distinct (but related) facets of troop leadership, the actual content of the modules really doesn't break down that way, and they all sort of run together. For example, position descriptions are discussed in both modules one and three; the Scoutmaster shares his vision of success in module two, while the Scouts write their definitions of success in module three. The titles of the modules are confusing: Module Two -- How To _Do_ Your Job [emphasis added], which includes the EDGE 4-step training process (Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, Enable) is subtitled "Be" rather than "Do"; Module Three -- What Is Expected Of Me? -- which includes the discussion of servant leadership, is subtitled "Do" rather than "Be." It would seem to make more sense for module two to have the "Do" designation and module three to have the "Be" designation.

There is some good stuff in TLT (including the tear-off position description cards), and it certainly takes a very different approach than the teambuilding exercises of JLT. However, it seems to be trying to emulate our adult training model, which starts with theory and philosophy and tries to turn them into practical application. Far better, it seems to me, to teach boys by starting with the practical "Whats" and "Hows" of leading a patrol and troop.

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

I guess I would have to say that I am not particularly impressed with the new Troop Leadership Training program (#34306A)(replacement for Junior Leader Training). Two main things:

(1) Like the Patrol Leader Handbook, TLT is written for older Scouts, not for 12- and 13-year-old patrol leaders. These younger Scouts simply can't sit through discussions of chapters of the Patrol Leader Handbook, discussion of the Scoutmaster's "Vision of Success," a discussion of servant leadership, or a "thinking/writing session." These guys need to be _doing_, not sitting; but this training really doesn't include fun, practical exercises that demonstrate various aspects of leadership.

(2) Like too much of our training, there is far too much lecture/discussion. Too much school, not enough Scouting.

(3) While the titles or themes of the three modules -- "Know," "Be," and "Do" -- seem to indicate three relatively distinct (but related) facets of troop leadership, the actual content of the modules really doesn't break down that way, and they all sort of run together. For example, position descriptions are discussed in both modules one and three; the Scoutmaster shares his vision of success in module two, while the Scouts write their definitions of success in module three. The titles of the modules are confusing: Module Two -- How To _Do_ Your Job [emphasis added], which includes the EDGE 4-step training process (Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, Enable) is subtitled "Be" rather than "Do"; Module Three -- What Is Expected Of Me? -- which includes the discussion of servant leadership, is subtitled "Do" rather than "Be." It would seem to make more sense for module two to

have the "Do" designation and module three to have the "Be" designation.

There is some good stuff in TLT (including the tear-off position description cards), and it certainly takes a very different approach than the teambuilding exercises of JLT. However, it seems to be trying to emulate our adult training model, which seems to me exactly the wrong approach.

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

Well, I'd say make a handbook available for adults (actually, I'd prefer an encyclopedia-type organization). Give the boys a book they will actually read cover to cover and that doesn't look anything like those textbooks they have to deal with every day in school.

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

Well, that assumes that (a) Scouts (particularly new Scouts) _know_ that they should be writing their own adventure, and (b) there are other Scouts they can use as models. We know that not every troop runs an ideal program, and not every Scout is having an adventurous Scouting career that can serve as a model for other Scouts. A handbook written as a novel would not only serve to fire the imagination and teach skills, it would serve as a handy and universal model that Scouts and troops could emulate.

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

Instead of a textbook, we need a novel -- a story of fun and adventure about boys who join Boy Scouts. It would take them from brand new Scouts through struggling to learn skills and having real outdoor adventures all the way to Eagle. Knowledge and skills for advancement would be both intertwined in the story and contained in sidebars scattered throughout the book. Ideally, boys would want to (a) live the same adventures that the Scouts in the book are pursuing, and (b) build on them.

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

Heard on a DC news radio station this morning: "They didn't give them water."

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

Increased youth membership brings with it additional resources (parents, some of whom become leaders), money, new chartered organizations, and additional contacts with people, businesses, and other institutions that provide support. That is the real world.

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

A couple of statements from BSA's 2002-2005 Strategic Plan, http://www.scouting.org/media/reports/2003/20022005.html , bear repeating:

"To further our values and faith-based mission to serve young people and their families, the growth of traditional membership and units is essential . . . Future growth depends on a clear understanding among parents, youth, chartered organizations, donors, and the general public that Scouting provides a unique value to the youth of this country and their families. The marketing message needs to build awareness and reinforce the fact that the Scouting program supports the physical, mental, and spiritual development needs of young people and their families. They need to understand membership is an investment that will pay dividends in the future."

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

Um, sst3rd, what makes you think that Scouting is intended for a limited audience? And of course breaking through cultural barriers is not easy -- no one said expanding the Movement and competing in the 21st century would be easy. That doesn't mean we can't do it. "[A]ll things to all people"? Well, not quite. But Cub Scouting was a radical departure from what Scouting had been up to that time; yet now Cub Scouting contains 2/3 of our youth membership. Notice that we are suggesting _adding to_ Scouting, not taking away from it; bulking it up, not watering it down. If we can achieve our mission in many different ways, why not?

Relevant "documentation" follows.

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

From "Aids to Scoutmastership" by Robert Baden-Powell, http://www.pinetreeweb.com/aidstosm-9.htm :

-------------------

TO SUM UP

THE WHOLE OBJECT of our Scouting is to seize the boy's character in its redhot stage of enthusiasm, and to weld it into the right shape and to encourage and develop its individuality so that the boy may educate himself to become a good man and a valuable citizen for his country.

By so doing we may hope to take a useful part in bringing strength, both moral and physical, to the nation.

But in developing national aspirations there is always the danger of becoming narrow and jealous of other nations. Unless we avoid this we bring about the very evil we are anxious to escape.

Fortunately in the Scout Movement we have Brother Scouts organised in almost every civilised country in the world, and we have formed already the tangible nucleus of a World Brotherhood. And the potentialities of this are being supplemented by the wider development of the cooperative sister movement, the Girl Guides (Girl Scouts).

In every country the purpose of the Scouts' training is identical, namely, efficiency for Service towards others; and with such an object in common, we can, as an International Brotherhood in Service, go forward and do a far-reaching work.

In our training of the boy we develop the individual in both spirit and efficiency to be an effective player in his national team of citizenhood. Acting on the same principle in the case of a nation, we should try to develop the right spirit and efficiency for helping that nation to work effectively in the team of nations.

If each, then, plays in its place, and "plays the game," there will be greater prosperity and happiness throughout the world, there will be brought about at last that condition which has so long been looked for-of Peace and Goodwill among men.

--------------------

And from the BSA's 2002-2005 Strategic Plan, quoted in the 2003 Annual Report, http://www.scouting.org/media/reports/2003/20022005.html :

--------------------

TRADITIONAL MEMBERSHIP AND UNIT GROWTH

The traditional Scouting program, which includes Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, Varsity Scouting, and Venturing, is the core bond between local communities and the Boy Scouts of America. To further our values and faith-based mission to serve young people and their families, the growth of traditional membership and units is essential.

SCOUTREACH

As America's population becomes more diverse, the organization continues to focus on providing Scouting to all minority communities. The BSA has always been and will continue to be strongly committed to offering its program to all economic and racial groups. It is the right thing to do and it ensures a representative membership that encompasses all ethnic groups.

* * *

MARKETING AND STRATEGIC POSITIONING

Future growth depends on a clear understanding among parents, youth, chartered organizations, donors, and the general public that Scouting provides a unique value to the youth of this country and their families. The marketing message needs to build awareness and reinforce the fact that the Scouting program supports the physical, mental, and spiritual development needs of young people and their families. They need to understand membership is an investment that will pay dividends in the future.

As Ann Landers used to say, wake up and smell the coffee.

Relevance is ALL about marketing. It doesn't matter how good you are at what you do if people aren't using you. If people don't choose Scouting to fulfill their needs and wants in a youth program, then Scouting is not relevant to them. Scouting's market share is slipping in a growing population, which means our relevance to that population is slipping.

Influence? Other than social historians, no one cares how much influence we had in the past. What matters is how much influence Scouting has TODAY. With all the litigation and negative publicity on membership issues, the stories about Councils cooking the books, and the recent spate of stories about lost Scouts and Scouts that had to be rescued, how do you think we're doing?

It is easy to be complacent. It is easy to say, "We'd be more competitive IF we had (more resources, more trained leaders, more parent participation)." It is easy to say that kids have more choices so Scouting will never be as big as it was before.

Poppycock. Other youth programs are growing, and they have the same resource, training, and participation problems we have. There is no reason we can't grow. The whole point of Scouting is to grow, to reach more and more youth. It is supposed to be a Movement. If we are incapable of growing, that also means we are probably incapable of retaining the market share we already have.*

We've stopped moving. If we aren't advancing, we aren't fulfilling our mission. Scouting is still big now, but is losing market share. When are we going to do something about it? When it is down to 70% of what it is now? 50%? Never? No -- the time to act was when we stopped growing. We're late.

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

*And please, none of that philosophical blather about how Scouting isn't about market share, it is about building character in individual boys. Of course it is about building character in individual boys -- and the more individual boys we reach, the more successful we will be at carrying out our mission.

Sorry, SP, but nothing you've said really advances the ball when it comes to making Scouting more marketable, and therefore more "relevant," to 21st century youth, families, and institutions. How do we preserve what we already have -- which you have so eloquently described -- while ensuring that Scouting is a real and attractive choice for more and more youth and an influential voice in modern society?

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA